Preparation

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, strip kale leaves from ribs and stems, then tear leaves crosswise into 2"–3" pieces. Cook kale in boiling water until bright green and slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer kale to a colander and rinse under cold water, tossing; squeeze out excess liquid from leaves. Keep water at a boil (you’ll use it for the pasta).

Whack garlic with the side of a chef’s knife to crush; peel off skins. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy pot over medium. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until sizzling, about 3 minutes. Season very generously with black pepper and cook, smashing with a wooden spoon, until cloves break into rough pieces, soften, and look golden. Add kale to pot and cook, stirring often, until darkened in color and very tender, about 8 minutes (garlic will break into even smaller pieces). Season with kosher salt and pepper.

This was delicious! Even my non kale-loving husband loved it! Used a little extra garlic because we love garlic. I used whole wheat linguine. The Parmesan, red pepper & sea salt kicked up the flavor nicely. Served it with pan cooked filet mignon. Yum!

Ok, its kale. I was underwhelmed by this recipe, which I probably made worse by using whole wheat capellini. I used regular curly green kale, but it might have been better with Tuscan kale, which I will try next time. My personal opinion is this recipe needs something else to make it more flavorful.

This was a YUGE hit at our house. I carmelized the garlic, seasoned with plenty of red pepper flakes, mixed it all with fettucini. We bought a chunk of good Romano cheese to shave over it. So delicious and worth it.

Deeeelish! I needed to add some liquid to the kale/garlic as it was sticking to my pan before my pasta was cooked. Could have turned down the heat more or added oil but white wine was perfect and gave it nice flavor. I'll be adding wine next time I make it even if nothing is sticking! I used brown rice noodles as that's what I had in my cupboard and needed to use up. I also squeezed fresh lemon on right before serving. Will definitely be making this often.

Love this. I had "kalettes" from my CSA but only half of the recommended amount, so I added some large chunks of zucchini. Fantastic. We also added sun dried tomatoes instead of cheese at the end due to a dairy allergy, a great substitute for a 'meatless Monday'.

Skip tearing the destemmed raw kale to speed things. If your stove isn't next to a sink, put a colander in a big bowl next to the pot of boiling water and scoup the cooked kale into that collander to drain. Use kitchen scissors in the collander to quickly cut wads of the kale, using a hand on each scissor handle for more force. This also helps drain the kale. A few scissor passes through the kale will do nicely.

I make this often. Yes. A go-to, absolutely. I do like to blanche the kale and then cook the pasta in the blanching liquor. So rich and delicious. Sometimes I slop cream all over it instead of quite so much oil. Just depends. Always a great night's sleep afterwards!

This is a good,simple recipe that cooks up a tasty, nutritious meal fast. For an ever faster version, cut or tear the kale into even smaller pieces, skip blanching it, and saute it along with the garlic [and onion???] until cooked through. Add chopped red bell pepper for some nice color, too!